Unique Features

As an extension of the Church, we offer unique features in addition to traditional nursery school offerings.

1. Baptism Celebrations
We celebrate God’s grace in making us members of His family through baptism. Parents will be invited to baptismal celebrations. Watch for an invitation during the month of your child’s baptism anniversary. The celebrations are usually held at the beginning of class for 15-20 minutes. The children enjoy sharing mementos (clothing, pictures, candles, etc.) of their baptism during the celebration. Children who are not baptized will enjoy a “Jesus loves me” celebration to be attended by a parent.

2. Chapel
During the year we schedule numerous visits to the church for each class, for informal worship services with the Pastor. Parents are welcome to join us.

3. Parent’s Days
Pre-3 classes schedule a special Saturday morning in October or early November so parents can experience a mini school day with their children. Painting, building, playing in the sand or in the kitchen, enjoying the play-ground – all help parents become more familiar with their child’s exciting days at school.

4. Art
We use a creative approach, dealing in different media. Each child works at his or her own level; therefore products will not be the same for every child. The process is more important than the product. There will not be an art project every day.

5. Field Trips
At intervals during the year, we have on-site “field trips” Special days are designated for events such as harvest, insects, art, and “beach” days. We hold a petting zoo and fun day in October and an animal program in the spring. We take advantage of programs offered by the Bergen County Utilities commission which may include Recycling with Roxy the Raccoon or the importance of Earthworms. Every January, we explore and learn about places in our world. Previous “special days” have included a pretend cruise to Hawaii, a Fiesta in Mexico, a wagon train west, an exporation under the sea, and a trip around the United States. These special days provide an opportunity to learn about different cultures, climates, animal life, geography, science, history and more.

6. Computer Program
Children in the 4 year old classes participate in this program, which is designed to be a computer-awareness experience. Colorful, self-correcting games about shape and color, size and logic, patterns and sequence, alphabet and numbers, and Bible stories allow the children to work at different levels of difficulty according to their interest and abilities. Monitoring by an adult assists the teacher in diagnosing areas where additional practice – either with the computer or with other material – might be helpful to a particular child.

7. Discipline
The nurturing of Christian faith in a child and a respect for others is a responsibility that the school shares with the home and church. The parents have the primary responsibility to provide Christian nurture and a wholesome atmosphere for the child. The school can, at best, supplement the Christian atmosphere of love and willing obedience which is maintained in the home. When a problem does arise in school, it will be handled at first by the teacher and child. The parents and Director will be involved as the situation warrants. Communication between the home and school (child, parent, and teacher) is essential. We use a positive approach, helping the child deal with anger appropriately. We ask children to express feelings with words rather than bodily contact, to “make love grow”. Our goal is self-discipline. Children will not be allowed to hurt themselves or others, or to damage property. We will attempt to redirect a child how is out of bounds, and, in extreme situations, may separate that child (under adult supervision) from the group until he/she is ready to return.

8. Parent Conferences
It is our belief that the child benefits most when the school and the home demonstrate mutual concern about his or her growth and development. The teacher and/or the Director will always make herself available (barring prior appointments) to discuss your child’s progress. This is in addition to two regularly scheduled conferences during the year. The school may suggest referral services where necessary.

Register for the September 2018-19 School Year

Schedule a tour of the COS nursery school!

Contact the front office!

10. Special Theme Month
Each January, we pick an area of the world and create a learning environment to introduce geography, science, math, history and language.

Below, the children visited New York City where they enjoyed a week of running the subway, dispatching taxi cabs and serving as hospital doctors for the animals of the “Bronx Zoo.” We stimulated the Band Aid stocks as children bandaged and treated a multitude of stuffed animals.

The “Museum of Natural History” offered a place to help incubate and find dinosaur babies. There were fossils and gems to be found as we chiseled hunks of clay to discover treasures.

The “Plaza Hotel” area offered a chance to play concierge and escort visitors to their “room” (made from our school’s climber”.

“Little Italy” offered them a restaurant atmosphere where they could create pizzas, bake them in a pretend oven, sell them using real pizza boxes and wait on tables like in a real pizzeria!

“Grand Central Station” provided an area of transportation, a newsstand and a Starbuck’s café. Children could also take a boat ride in the “East River” to see the Statue of Liberty.